This invention relates to an inflatable escape slide and more particularly to an improved aircraft inflatable escape slide raft assembly with releasable stabilizer straps that support the head end of the escape slide in its deployment from an aircraft.
Escape slides employed in aircraft emergency situations, such as aborted take offs and emergency landings where it is necessary to evacuate passengers and the crew immediately, it is necessary to deploy the escape slide in the correct attitude under adverse weather conditions including strong winds. In these weather circumstances, the slide can be twisted by the winds rendering it useless as where a portion of the slide is skewed under the aircraft thereby preventing its proper deployment.
The present invention is directed to the use of stabilizing straps that interconnect the head end of the escape slide raft assembly, which receives the initial inflating fluids, to the adjacent aircraft girt support to stabilize the slide during deployment under adverse wind conditions. The straps maintain the head end of the slide properly against the side of the airplane and prevents such head end from dipping during the inflation process in the strong winds. In addition the straps as placed and interconnected to transfer all the load into the girt bar. These stabilizer straps are detachable from the airplane and the girt after inflation simultaneously by a single lanyard that also releases the escape slide from its interlocking quick release connection to the aircraft thus permitting the escape slides use as a life raft.